Omika Manju

by Airi

Japanese bean paste cakes (manju) date back before Columbus. Unpeido is a traditional Japanese manju store in Hitachi. Unpeido was established in 1872, and is very popular.

Manju is a popular traditional Japanese dessert, which is made from rice cakes and bean paste. Omika manju is one of the most popular desserts in Unpeido. Manju dough is made with rice flour and inside is azuki bean paste. The dessert only lasts three days because Unpeido does not use preservatives. The price is 80 yen per manju, so Omika manju is very reasonable! The taste is a little sweet, and some people recommend eating Omika manju with green tea or black coffee.

Even more delicious, Jusanmairi is also a popular manju in Unpeido. Many people prefer Jusanmairi because the dough is mixed with butter and honey. Baked in the oven, this looks like a small cake. Inside the manju is grilled bean paste and egg yolk, which creates a sweet taste, different from traditional Japanese manju.

Unpeido is near Omika Station. Go out of the station and turn left. You can find stairs on the right. Go down the stairs, and Unpeido is on the right side, an easy one-minute walk.

They are open all year around, opening at 8:30 am and closing at 6 pm. On Fridays, they close at 6:30. There are some tables where we can eat manju. Unpeido staff gives us free green tea, so we can relax there. Unpeido has some branches in other places, including one near Hitachi Station, and one near Taga Station. We can reach both of them in about 5 minutes on foot. In addition, they have two other branches near Mito Station, and Newdays, which is a convenience store in Mito Station, sells a few of their manju. Also we can get manju online. You can buy delicious manju easily! Let’s try Omika manju and enjoy eating Japanese history! Visit Unpeido’s homepage at http://unpeido.co.jp/ .

 

Let’s Ride the Sushi-go-round

by Minami O.

Hamazushi is a popular Japanese sushi restaurant chain. Hamazushi is the place where it is easy for people from abroad to savor sushi. Hamazushi sells delicious and reasonably priced sushi. So, people can enjoy eating the various tastes and fish.

Sushi is eaten with soy sauce to remove the fishy smell. Hamazushi has five kinds of soy sauce, and you can choose your favorite type! Certainly, you can have a fresh and delicious variety of sushi and you can have many side dishes, like noodles, cakes and many drinks. I recommend shrimp with avocado and salmon.

Moreover, Hamazushi offers new menus once a month. You can enjoy seasonal foods and limited-time foods. And you can also buy sushi to go. There are many sushi sets and you can order sushi as you like. I recommend that you order early because it may take a long time to get sushi.

The cost is very reasonable. It means you can eat sushi for 90 yen on weekdays. It opens from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and this restaurant is open all year round. There are many Hamazushi restaurants everywhere in Japan! So, you can eat Japanese food anytime and anywhere.

If you go there, you order sushi by using a monitor. And then, you must pick up your ordered sushi from the conveyor belt.

It is located in Hitachi Kanesawa town along Japan National Route 6. And it takes about thirty minutes by foot from Omika station. Sushi is the most popular Japanese food, so Hamazushi is a very good place to eat sushi or something Japanese.

Get Super Powers around Hitachi

by Airi M.

Do you know the spot in Hitachi where you can get super powers? It is Oiwa shrine! Below are pictures of one of the buildings and a Torii gate. We can get special powers that last for a long time; this shrine is the most powerful spot in Japan. One rumor tells that when an astronaut went into space, she saw a shining place on Earth. She searched for the shining place later, and the place was Oiwa Shrine.

Oiwa shrine is home to 108 Gods, so it is large. Praying to all Gods takes 2 hours. Gods are from many sects. For example, Kunitokotachinomikoto, one of the sons of the first two Gods of Japan, also has a home there. We can also hike there. If we hike around the shrine and up the mountain, we can stay there for three or four hours.

Next is a trio of big famous Japanese cedars from about 500 years ago, and the cedars are 50 meters tall. The trio was chosen as one of “The 100 Forest Giants of Japan.” If we stand in front of the cedars, where the sun creates a rainbow, we can get giant powers and bask in the rainbow sun.

The shrine has some events. The first event is Saitansai, which is held on January 1st every year across Japan. Usually almost all Japanese go to the shrine to pray on January 1st. This shrine is especially popular in Japan, and many people come to Oiwa shrine on that day. The second event is called Kaikousai, which is only held at Oiwa shrine, on the third weekends of April and October every year. We protect our ancestors and Gods if we pray here during this event.

I recommend Oiwa shrine. You should go there if you come to Hitachi city. Get special powers from Oiwa Shrine! To go to the shrine by train, get off at Hitachi station and take the bus for Higashi Kochi. The bus stop is at the 1 sign. Get off the bus at Oiwa shrine. It takes 35 minutes by bus from Hitachi station. The bus fare is 500 yen one way and 1000 yen round trip. Admission is free. The shrine is near; we can go there easily. Visit Oiwa Shrine’s Homepage at http://www.oiwajinja.jp/.

 

 

 

 

The Café On The Sea

by Natsuki S.

Do you know a stylish café in Hitachi? I would like to introduce“SEA BIRDS CAFÉ”. I chose this café because it has a lot of charm.

Direction

This café is located in Hitachi station and it takes about 10 minutes from Omika station by train. It costs about 200 yen. The price of food is reasonable for us. Most of its prices are about 800 yen, so they are easy to order for us. Because of its popular location, lunchtime is often absolutely packed.

 

 

History

Hitachi station was renovated in 2011. This café was designed by Kazuyo Sejima, who is a famous architect in 2012. It won an award. For these reasons, this café became popular.

Fascination

The store has a fancy interior. We can eat lunch with one eye on the sea. It is a great view, so window seats are always booked. If we sit on a window seat, we will need to call for reservation. When I visited this café, I could not sit on a window seat.

 

 

I think the most popular food is “Pancakes”. It tastes nice and looks great. Almost everyone takes photos and then posts them on the Internet. This is a regular source of amusement for them.

 

Through the internet, other people see and they become interested in this café. I want you to visit to this café. I think you can eat delicious food and relax. If you go to this café on a sunny day, you will take in the wonderful view. And you will probably want to go there again.

 

 

Let’s Eat a Yummy and Genuine Curry

by Saki N.

I’m introducing a good restaurant to you. The restaurant name is I-N Kitchen. This is curry restaurant by Nepalese or Indian. I want to explain how to order. We pick from A to D set. We choose rice or naan. We can eat that naan free refill.　And also, there are many kinds of curry. For example, chicken curry, green curry, mutton curry, keema curry, vegetable curry, soup curry and so on. We are able to choose from a variety of spiced curry. Additionally, lassi, which is a sweet juice, is a common drink of southern Asia.

 

Next, I’ll tell about how to get to I-N Kitchen. The store is near the station. Maybe a 7 minute walk. First, you leave the station by the west exit. You walk the 1 minutes from the traffic light. You should turn right and keep on going straight. It is next to the Ito Yokado parking garage. You can see the sign.

 

Finally, I introduce store information in detail. This restaurant lunch time is 11:00~15:00 and dinner time is 17:00~24:00. We can go into the restaurant. Also, It costs 650~950yen. That restaurant is inexpensive for the quality. Also, the server is very kind to customers.

 

I recommend the restaurant in Hitachi. Thank you for reading!

A Wonderful Zoo in Hitachi

by Mao A.

The Kamine Zoo was opened in 1957 and the zoo has its 60^th anniversary in this year. And the zoo’s motto is “A zoo which we can enjoy and learn”.

The zoo has about 100 species and 580 animals. For example, elephants, lions, tigers, capybaras, hippos, rabbits, and so on.

You can put a snake on your shoulders. We can feed elephants, monkeys and goats. We can enjoy contact with guinea pigs and giant rabbits. Those experiences and contacts are popular. A baby capybara was born last month. There is a standing raccoon.

There is a café that name is ‘Elephant café’. The café’s recommend menu is a ‘Kamine burger’. Other dishes are pizza, French fries, pastas, grilled curry and rice and so on. In there, there are some souvenirs, too.

There are keychains, puppets, snacks, toys and so on as souvenirs. The most famous souvenir is “a Gorilla Booger”. It looks like gorilla’s boogers. The name is amazing, but it’s sweetened adzuki beans. I think we need courage to buy it.

In June, there is free admission for only 2 days. And a panel exhibition is held to commemorate the 60^th anniversary.

And, in August every year, this zoo holds “Zoo at night”. The closing time is extended to 9:00 p.m. and the zoo attendants feed frozen fruit and so on the chimpanzees.

The zoo is opened at 9 a.m. and closed at 5 p.m. in March to October. If we go around the zoo, it takes maybe 3 to 5 hours.

Kamine Zoo is located in Hitachi City. It takes about 10 minutes from Hitachi station by bus.

The admission fee of adults is 510 yen and children is 100 yen. But the people who are over 65 years old can enter free.

 

My hometown: Hitachi city

By Mayu

My hometown has four beautiful seasons: spring, summer, fall and winter.

In the spring, many cherry blossoms dye Hitachi city pink. About 120 trees bloom in front of the station to create a pink road. The first Saturday and Sunday in April, a festival is held. The festival is called Cherry Blossom Festival (Sakuramatsuri). A lot of people come to see the festival. My hometown has 10 beaches have spas and hotels near by. It is very convenient.

The mountains around my hometown change colors in the fall to red, yellow and orange. For example, one mountain is Mt. Kamine. It is 598 meters tall and the view from the top looks over Hitachi city, the sea and other mountains.

You can eat Monk fish in the winter. It is eaten from a Japanese pot (Nabe) .

The Japanese pot is like a bowl and made of baked clay. The pot contains vegetables and Monk fish. The taste is fresh, has collagen and is low in fat and calories. There are 18 Japanese restaurant in my hometown.

 

If you come to my hometown, you can see beautiful seasons and eat lots of good food. So, please come once!

Hitachi Seaside Park

By Shiho

Hitachi Seaside Park is a great place. When you arrive at Katsuta Station, please exit from the east entrance, go to Bus Stop No. 2 and take the Ibaraki Transport Bus for Hitachi Seaside Park Westgate or Southgate. It takes about 30 minutes from Omika to Hitachi Seaside Park. It is near the Ajigaura coast.

When you go to the park, you have to pay 400 yen. Sometimes, on special days, we can enter the park for free. It is open from 9:30 to 17:00. When you go cycling, you have to pay 300 yen. If you continue to cycle, you have to pay 50 yen per 30 minutes. If you have your own cycle, you can ride for free. Also, we can ride a twin-seater, but there is a height limit. We can also enjoy a BMX course.

To barbecue, you have to reserve the area in advance, and prepare cookware and meals. You can buy charcoal there for 500 yen. You can use some tools for free. Also, there is a golf course. If you play 9 holes, you have to pay 500 yen. If you play 18 holes, you only have to pay 800 yen.

There are beautiful flowers you can see from the hill. We can see Nemophila from April to May and Kochia plants in autumn. When you ride the attractions, you have to buy a ticket. It is 1000 yen if you buy a coupon ticket. The Ferris wheel and rollercoaster are 600 yen. If it is not crowded, you can ride easily. You don’t need to wait!

We can enjoy a great day!

Places to go around IC

By Megumi

I’d like to introduce some good places to go around IC. All these places are famous with IC students. I hope you find it informative.

First, I’d like to recommend ramen shops. Omika has a lot of ramen shops such as Menya Yuki, Menjiro, Menya Ryo, Kurumaya ramen and so on.  I’d especially like you to try Menya Ryo. It has the best Tonkotsu ramen (noodle with a pork bone broth) in Omika! If you show your student ID, you will get free one extra noodle refill or a free seasoned egg. That’s why IC students love this ramen shop. Ramens are usually about 800 yen.

During the summer, IC students enjoy the beach. The nearest beach is about 10 minute by car from IC. So we can go to the beach during free time. Many IC students enjoy not only swimming but also fireworks at the beach. Seeing the sunset is amazing not only in summer but also other seasons.

If you or your friends have a car, going to Fashion cruise is also good idea. Fashion cruise has over 100 shops. You can buy clothes, pets, coffee, toys and anything you want there! And there are a lot of delicious food. Some of IC students works here. If you happen to see them there, you might get discounted food. Around Fashion cruise, there are a movie theater, Costco, huge book store, electronics center and many other stores. I’m sure you will never be bored here. It takes about 20 minutes by car from IC to Fashion cruise. My recommendation is relaxing at the café in Tsutaya book store. You can bring books or magazines, up to two, even if you don’t buy them.

After club activity or something like that, why don’t you go Yura no Sato? This is hot spring. It has an open air bath with an ocean view, some inside hot spring baths, some bedrock baths, a restaurant, body care service and a spa. They will heal your tired body.

There are more places in Hitachi. You should go to these places now! Why don’t you make a lot of memory with IC students in Hitachi!